A manhole cover on the track caused two F1 cars to collapse and the first practice session of the Las Vegas Grand Prix had to be abandoned for safety reasons.
Carlos Sainz Jnr's Ferrari SF23 and Esteban Ocon's Alpine A523 were badly damaged when they collided with a manhole cover on the Las Vegas Strip's long straight. Both drivers were safe, but the incident meant the planned 60-minute test session was abandoned and then cancelled after less than 10 minutes.
Sainz's SF23 was towed off the track after it got stuck in a manhole cover during the first test race of the Las Vegas Grand Prix. Photo: F1
Seven minutes into the race, Sainz's car suddenly stopped at the end of the long straight. According to Ferrari, the car hit a manhole cover near Turn 14 at around 300km/h. Yellow and red flags were immediately raised to slow the race. However, Ocon immediately reported to his team that the A523 had hit "something" on the long straight. Alpine later informed Ocon that the A523's underfloor was badly damaged.
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton also reported debris on the track, while Alfa Romeo's C43 Zhou Guanyu was said to have been damaged. After about 10 minutes of waiting under the red flag, the referees announced that the test could not continue, with more than 40 minutes remaining. It is likely that a second test on Thursday will also not be held as planned.
"The concrete structure around a manhole cover on the track is damaged. We now need to check all other manhole covers. This will take some time, we will discuss with the track engineering department about the time needed to resolve and will update soon with any changes to the schedule for the next test," the organizers announced.
Track engineers inspect the manhole cover that caused the incident...
and overcome. Photo: AFP
Valtteri Bottas (Alfa Romeo) was the first driver to complete a lap at Las Vegas with a time of 1:50.227. Due to the early end of testing, five of the 20 drivers did not complete a lap. Ferrari's Charles Leclerc had the best time with a time of 1:40.909. As expected before the race, feedback from the drivers was that the Las Vegas track was very low on grip despite the track temperature not being as low as expected.
Speaking at a press conference following the team leaders' meeting, Ferrari president Frederic Vasseur described the incident as "unacceptable", confirming damage to the chassis, engine and battery on Sainz's SF23. The Spaniard is likely to miss the next test. Meanwhile, Alpine confirmed that the chassis on Ocon's car will need to be changed. Minutes later, the FIA also confirmed that both Ferrari and Alpine cars had to be repaired due to the manhole cover incident.
Although rare, it is not the first time an F1 race has been stopped due to such an incident. The first practice session at the 2019 Azerbaijan Grand Prix was cancelled when George Russell's (Williams) FW42 hit a manhole cover and was damaged. The cancellation of the practice session makes it even more difficult for the drivers to get used to a new and unpredictable track like Las Vegas.
The qualifying round of the Las Vegas Grand Prix is scheduled to take place at 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 18, Hanoi time. The official race begins at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 19.
Minh Phuong
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